Womenstake, NWLC's Blog

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Kara Farnandez Stoll to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Now-Judge Stoll, whose qualifications are unassailable, was confirmed unanimously by a vote of 95-0.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, July 8th, the Senate passed the High School Data Transparency Act (S.Amdt.2124) by a voice vote as an amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act (a bill that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)). The data act, which would help ensure that girls have equal access to athletic opportunities, is now part of the ESEA reauthorization bill pending before the Senate. Senator Murray’s amendment had four other co-sponsors: Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

On Sunday, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team beat Japan 5-2 in one of the most riveting, dramatic, and intense soccer matches I have ever seen. Carli Lloyd was unstoppable, scoring an unheard of three goals in just the first 16 minutes.

Iconic team leaders Abby Wambach and Christie Rampone both took the field in the second half of the match for what was likely their final World Cup appearance. Rampone has been a staple on the team since the last time they won the World Cup in 1999. Wambach has also made a lasting impact on the squad, both for skill and leadership. She will likely end her playing career with the record for most international goals scored of any U.S. soccer player, man or woman. But even these prolific athletes cannot escape the harsh reality of being a woman in America.

On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed enforcement of key provisions of HB2—Texas’ sweeping anti-abortion law—pending the Court’s decision whether to hear an appeal in the case. Only 9 abortion clinics would have remained open in the state had the law gone into effect leaving over 1.3 million women of reproductive age [PDF] more than 100 miles from the nearest abortion clinic.

Unbelievably, once again some Members of Congress are trying to pass an abortion restriction that would expand the Hyde Amendment — which is the provision of law that bars abortion from being included in federal programs — like Medicaid or (in this case) NIH research.

Instead of raising the minimum wage, or creating more jobs, or — I don’t know — making sure that women actually have access to reproductive health care, the House of Representatives is focused on spreading this insidious restriction.

Last year I had the privilege of working as a Jumpstart Corps Member in a preschool that served low-income families, where almost all of the students were African American or Latina/o. I miss those kids every day, and what is even more painful is knowing that many of these smart, lovable children are going to attend under-resourced schools, where they are less likely to have access to advanced courses and are more likely to be subject to excessive discipline practices. That kind of unequal access to meaningful educational opportunities isn’t fair, and it’s a huge civil rights issue.

Today’s release of June’s jobs data shows another month of solid private sector job growth and declining unemployment. Our analysis finds that two-thirds of the 223,000 jobs added last month went to women. Though we’re moving in the right direction, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Earlier this week, the Governor of California signed SB 277 [PDF], closing a gap in the state’s law which had threatened public health. SB 277 protects public health by eliminating religious and other non-medical exemptions from vaccination requirements, ensuring the only children not vaccinated are those with medical reasons. The law protects public health by ensuring only children with medical reasons are exempt from these important vaccine requirements.